


Tuesday with Akira

by Arsoemon



Series: Kitagaweek! [7]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mushy, Sentimental, Short & Sweet, Shukita - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22457668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arsoemon/pseuds/Arsoemon
Summary: It’s finally here. Today is the day.
Relationships: Kitagawa Yusuke/Kurusu Akira, Kitagawa Yusuke/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: Kitagaweek! [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602391
Comments: 1
Kudos: 50





	Tuesday with Akira

Today is another inclimate weather day for Kosei students, and Yusuke is trying to decide what he’ll do with it when, as if on cue, he gets a text. This time from Akira.

_Busy?_

His heart leaps. It’s been over a week since they last saw each other, but not for lack of trying. Every time one would invite the other out, he was already busy. _Not at all_ , he replies.

_Meet me at the station?_

He almost throws his phone in his haste to get dressed. _I will be there shortly._

He brushes his teeth as he racks his brain for what to wear—too cold for this, too public for that, that’s not finished yet... he checks the time. Only five minutes have passed. It’s fine. He takes a deep breath trying to figure out why he’s so out of character. Then he remembers Akira’s smile and just how long it’s been since he last saw it, and it all makes sense, though he has yet to openly admit it even in his own mind. He decides on the outfit Ann bought—minus the unfinished jacket—and hurries to get dressed and to the station. He thanks the stars when he realizes he’s first there; gives him time to gather his composure. But only a little. His breathing is just evening out when he sees him round the corner, and his heart instantly leaps into his throat again.

“You look amazing.” He’s just so cool, standing there with his hands in his pockets and his smooth, easygoing voice like there’s nothing in the world he can’t handle. Yusuke is sure his own face is beet red.

“As do you,” he sounds far calmer than he feels. “What did you have in mind for today?”

“Nothing in particular. Just hang out at Leblanc?”

“I would very much enjoy that.”

“Oh, uh, mind if we make a few stops first? I’ll try to make it quick.”

“I am in no hurry,” he assures him.

They board the train and watch the meme compilation Ryuji posted in the group chat on the way. “Ah, the art museum. Makoto and I were here last week,” he notes as they enter the building.

“Oh?” They approach the front desk, and Akira shows them his ID.

“We enjoyed a most fascinating conversation.” Akira hands him a poster tube. “For me?” Akira nods. He opens it and pulls out the rolled paper. Inside are a signed print of the artwork named _Will_ he and Makoto spent so much time discussing and a picture they took together. “This is for me?” He asks again, eyes wide.

Akira just smirks as he thanks the desk clerk. “We have a couple more stops.” Yusuke gently repacks the print before they leave.

“The library?”

“I need to return these books,” Akira pulls two books out of his bag, one by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the other whose title seems to include something about art. Yusuke is curious but not enough to question it. Akira sets the books on the desk, and the librarian smiles at him before turning to head to the room behind her. She returns with a small envelope that she wordlessly offers to Akira. He bows slightly in thanks and passes it to Yusuke. Though he’s still a bit confused, he takes the look Akira gives him as his cue to open it. There is a small stack of money and another picture, this time of him and Akechi. Before the question can fully form, Akira is motioning for him to follow.

Next is the bookshop. Akira makes a beeline for shounen ai section and spends a second looking for one in particular. Yusuke didn’t catch the title, but he’s pleasantly surprised that Akira is so open-minded even in his choice of entertainment. He follows him to the check-out desk and sees the usual shopkeeper. He nods to the man who, instead of nodding back like usual, smiles as he looks from one boy to the other. He whispers something to Akira as he passes him a medium sized tote of books. Akira looks away from the man. Is he embarrassed? It’s kind of cute. But Yusuke has no time to think much on this or what this whole trip is about; Akira is already walking toward the door.

Strange interactions like these continue. They go to the crepe shop he and Ann ate at Saturday. Akira orders something that must be on the secret menu because Yusuke has never heard of it being sold here. He gets a fancy box, and they head to the next stop. Here at the flower shop, Yusuke just barely hears something about gardenias before the shopkeeper replies and leaves to grab something. They walk out of the store with a massive, elegant bouquet that seems to be hiding some sort of card or perhaps another picture amidst the assortment. At their last stop—“I promise,” Akira had said— they visit the second-hand shop steps away from Leblanc where Akira takes the one apparently dead white rose from the bouquet and trades the shopkeeper for a primrose and a small box that he hands to Yusuke. He has to search the text on the packaging to find that it’s a Final Fantasy character—a custom one. He’s about to open it, but Akira is already on his way down the street.

They finally make it to Leblanc, and they appear to be the only ones there. As Akira flits around placing the flowers and what Yusuke assumes is cake in just the right places, Yusuke flips through the pictures and gifts for the fifth time. Akira runs up the stairs for a second, during which time Yusuke takes inventory. There’s the signed art print, the money, stacks of books, cake, flowers, and a figurine. He opens the box and realizes it’s not just any character, but his very own dressed as a samurai. He looks away, fighting off tears, and that’s when he notices there are notes on the back of the pictures. As he shuffles through the images once again, Akira returns with a fairly large canvas.

“Oh! Have you taken up painting as well?” Yusuke asks cheerfully.

“Not quite,” Akira turns the canvas around. Yusuke gasps as he rises to his feet. Akira drops another set of pictures on the table, the candid shots each of their friends got while they were out with him.

“You....” he can feel his face heat up as his jaw drops.

“I’m sorry for not seeing you before today. I spent the last week learning photoshop to do this.” Akira looks nervous.

Yusuke wants so badly to tell him how marvelous it is, how much fun this unorthodox scavenger hunt was, how happy he was just to see him today. But as realization fully hits him—the gifts from each place are from their friends, from _his_ friends _to him_ , and they all put all this effort and time into celebrating _his_ birthday for a whole week—he’s far too overwhelmed to speak.

Yusuke moves purely on impulse. He’s done it before he even realizes. He blinks and sees Akira’s reddened, surprised face inches away. “Ah-!” He takes a step back. “A-Akira, I’m... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so presumptuous. I-“

Akira moves purely on desire. He’s done it before fear can change his mind. He opens his eyes and sees Yusuke’s dazed expression as they rest their foreheads against each other. It was a long, convoluted plan to confess, and yet he didn’t even have to say a word. They smile shyly at each other, each one understanding the other through gaze alone.

“Happy birthday, Yusuke.”

**Author's Note:**

> This has been fun, and I’m super grateful to you for reading! Thank you💙


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